Judge Rejects Citigroup Settlement With SEC

The Associated Press

November 28, 2011

 

A federal judge on Monday struck down a $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, citing a need for clarity about the financial markets and the SEC's responsibility to ensure the truth emerges.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said in a written ruling that "in any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth."

The deal would have imposed penalties on Citigroup even as it allowed the company to deny allegations that it misled investors on a complex mortgage investment. The SEC accused the bank of betting against the investment in 2007 and making $160 million, while investors lost millions.
The SEC allowed a consent judgment settling the case to be filed the same day it filed its lawsuit against Citigroup, the judge noted.

"It is harder to discern from the limited information before the court what the SEC is getting from this settlement other than a quick headline," the judge wrote.

"In much of the world, propaganda reigns, and truth is confined to secretive, fearful whispers," Rakoff said. "Even in our nation, apologists for suppressing or obscuring the truth may always be found. But the SEC, of all agencies, has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges; and if it fails to do so, this court must not, in the name of deference or convenience, grant judicial enforcement to the agency's contrivances."

He set a July 16 trial date for the case.

Messages seeking comment were left with both sides.

HARP May Be Playing Your Song!

Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)

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If you are current on your mortgage and have been unable to obtain a traditional refinance because the value of your home has declined, you may be eligible to refinance through HARP. HARP is designed to help you refinance into a new affordable, more stable mortgage. The HARP loan is a new loan and will require a loan application and underwriting process. Loan refinance fees will apply.

Eligibility*

You may be eligible to apply if you meet all of the following:

• ​​​​Your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
• The mortgage must have been sold to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae on or before May 31, 2009.
• ​The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May 2009.
• You must be current on your mortgage at the time of the refinance with no late payment in the last six months and no more than one late payment in the past twelve months.
• The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80%.

*Eligibility criteria are for guidance only. Contact your mortgage servicer to see if you qualify for HARP.

Program Availability

The HARP program is offered by many servicers. Homeowners should check with their mortgage servicer (the company to which homeowners make their mortgage payments) to determine if they are participating in HARP. If their mortgage servicer is not participating, the homeowner may contact other lenders that participate in HARP to determine if they are eligible for a refinance.

Steps to HARP Refinance

• Determine whether your mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac by visiting their respective Loan Lookup tools.
• Contact your current mortgage servicer or another that is approved by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to inquire about HARP.
• Compare rates and costs with additional mortgage companies to ensure best refinance terms.

For More Information

• Visit FannieMae.com or call (800)7Fannie.
• Visit FreddieMac.com, call (800)Freddie, Option 2
• If you have additional questions about getting mortgage help, contact one of our housing advisors at (888) 995-HOPE begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (888) 995-HOPE end_of_the_skype_highlighting (4673). These HUD-approved housing counselors will help you understand your options, design a plan to suit your individual situation, and prepare your application. Research shows that homeowners who work with housing counselors like these are more successful and have better long-term outcomes. There is no cost to you for this valuable, around-the-clock service. Help is available in more than 160 languages.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT IN MASSIVE CLARK COUNTY ROBO-SIGNING SCHEME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: November 16, 2011 702-486-3782

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT IN MASSIVE

CLARK COUNTY ROBO-SIGNING SCHEME

Defendants to be Held Criminally Accountable for Filing Tens of Thousands of

Fraudulent Foreclosure Documents

Carson City, NV –

The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced today that the Clark County grand jury has returned a 606 count indictment against two title officers, Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard, who directed and supervised a robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s Office between 2005 and 2008.

According to the indictment, defendant Gary Trafford, a California resident, is charged with 102 counts of offering false instruments for recording (category C felony); false certification on certain instruments (category D felony); and notarization of the signature of a person not in the presence of a notary public (a gross misdemeanor). The indictment charges defendant Gerri Sheppard, also a California resident, with 100 counts of offering false instruments for recording (category C felony); false certification on certain instruments (category D felony); and notarization of the signature of a person not in the presence of a notary public (a gross misdemeanor).

”The grand jury found probable cause that there was a robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s Office between 2005 and 2008,”said Chief Deputy Attorney General John Kelleher.

The indictment alleges that both defendants directed the fraudulent notarization and filing of documents which were used to initiate foreclosure on local homeowners. The State alleges that these documents, referred to as Notices of Default, or “NODs”, were prepared locally. The State alleges that the defendants directed employees under their supervision, to forge their names on foreclosure documents, then notarize the signatures they just forged, thereby fraudulently attesting that the defendants actually signed the documents, which was untrue and in violation of State law. The defendants then allegedly directed the employees under their supervision to file the fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s office, to be used to start foreclosures on homes throughout the County.

The indictment alleges that these crimes were done in secret in order to avoid detection. The fraudulent NODs were allegedly forged locally to allow them to be filed at the Clark County Recorder’s office on the same day they were prepared.

District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti has set bail in the amount of $500,000 for Sheppard and $500,000 for Trafford. The case has been assigned to Department 5 District Court Judge Carolyn Ellsworth who will preside over the case.

Anyone who has information regarding this case is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Office at 702-486-3777 in Las Vegas or 775-684-1180 in Carson City.

Read the indictment by visiting:

http://bit.ly/TraffordSheppardIndictment

Students Swap Dorms for McMansions?

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, November 17, 2011   

Some college students are trading in cramped dorm rooms for ultra-large luxury McMansions, complete with Jacuzzis, grand great rooms, five-bedrooms, chandeliers, and three-car garages.

For example, in Merced, Calif., which has been hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis, college students in the community who are facing a shortage of dorm space are finding housing from the McMansions that had been overbuilt in the area during the housing boom and now stand vacant, The New York Times reports.

College students are finding good deals too. In Merced, which is home to a University of California campus, sharing a McMansion may only cost them about $200 to $350 per month each, and they get more space to spread out and extra amenities compared to a smaller dorm on-campus that may cost about $13,720 per year. What’s more, the McMansions have also become the answer to a shortage of housing on campus: The university only has room for 1,600 students in campus dorms but 5,200 are enrolled.

The college students moving into these homes in the suburbs have helped with Merced’s foreclosure problem (the city ranks third in the nation for foreclosures). Students moving in and sharing these houses that had stood empty have been “a blessing,” Ellie Wooten, a real estate broker in Merced, told The New York Times.

Source: “Animal McMansion: Students Trade Dorm for Suburban Luxury,” The New York Times (Nov. 12, 2011)

Check Your Checkbook!

November was to be the month that many large banks, such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase, were to implement debit card fees. After a storm of protests from consumers, the banks backed away from these charges and checking account holders patted themselves on the back for winning the battle against the large banks.

But congratulations may be premature. Banks learned an important lesson from this episode. The lesson was not that they can't get away with charging extra fees; the lesson was that they must do it quietly so as not to create a storm of bad press.

In the coming months, carefully watch your checking account statements for added fees. What sort of fees? Do you do mobile banking? Need to wire funds? Want to replace your lost debit card? Do you have a monthly maintenance fee on your account? You can bet your bank is looking at either implementing or increasing these fees.

What can you do? First, read those "change to account" notices that come in the mail to see if your bank is notifying you about upcoming fee increases. Carefully check your account statements to track what activities incur a charge.

If you find that the bank is charging fees, you may want to switch to another bank or credit union that has lower (or no) fees.